Upstate animal clinics hope incoming vet students fill vacancies
Veterinarians and emergency animal doctors are hopeful a new generation of students could help fill the gaps created by staffing shortages, prompting some Upstate practices to close.Animal medicine is facing a shortage across the nation and in South Carolina. A report from Clemson University claims a third of South Carolina counties have fewer than five veterinarians, and 48% of those counties have fewer than 10.Upstate animal clinics, especially those in rural outcroppings, are hurting the most. Upstate Vet Emergency and Specialty Care, one of the area’s primary resources for pet care, was forced to close the weekend of July 19 and 20 because of a “staffing issue.”The clinic referred patients to the South Asheville branch.Dr. Atticus Mabry, who practices out of Oasis Animal Hospital in Greenville, said he is concerned with how the industry has changed. “If they can’t stay open, that’s really concerning to us as veterinarians in the area. Oasis was built initially in kind of as an urgent care and emergency model. We’re not open 24 over seven. We lean on places like Upstate Vet and Fetch for the specialty component and that 24-hour care. The reason they don’t have backup veterinarians and stuff at this point is they’re owned by a large corporation that’s not local,” Mabry said. “Greenville used to be privately owned practices, privately owned specialty. We all talked to each other. We all hung out with each other. We would share employees if you needed coverage, and that sort of has dissipated because of corporate acquisitions.”The field is considered by many a calling rather than a job. Balancing long hours, working through traumatic or critical cases and comforting a family or pet owner in a moment of high stress is typical protocol in a shift. “We’re an integral part of the surrounding area. I mean, people trust us for not only their pet care, but you wouldn’t believe what they tell us. We just listen,” Mabry said. The high pressures often lead to high turnover rates, especially in emergency medicine. Fewer graduates are willing to move to rural areas where the need is growing. Clemson University College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Dr. Steven Marks said three decades in the field led him to inspire the next generation.”I’ve been a veterinarian for over 35 years. The passion is really the interaction between humans and animals. The human animal bond and also training the next generation of clinicians and scientists. It’s multifaceted,” Marks said.The nation has 33 accredited veterinary programs through the American Veterinary Medical Association. None currently exist in the state of South Carolina.Aspiring students have a few options: apply for in-state or reduced tuition through an out-of-state institution, or study a vet technician role at a technical college.Clemson University claims that between 500 and 1,000 students are not being admitted because existing programs are at capacity. But hope is on the horizon.The Harvey S. Peeler School of Veterinary Medicine will be opening the Palmetto State’s first and only program in fall of 2026, with a class of 80 students. The university broke ground on the seven-building property in November 2024.”We have seven buildings. Six of those buildings will be academic buildings. There will be a main building that we will have classrooms and we’ll have offices, food services, a library. We will have a formal teaching building. We will show there’s a farm animal teaching building will have an equine teaching building,” Marks said. “Not just dogs and cats, but horses, cows, food safety, regulatory medicine. We’re looking for students that have varied interests. We’re not just looking for one type of engineering, but we will train them in all fields so they have opportunities to go into any aspect of any medicine that they choose. We’ll have a clinical teaching building, which will be anatomy labs, surgery labs. We will have a research building, and then we have an ambulatory service building that really is a truck-based hospital service to help serve large animals in the community.”The facility has been in talks for decades. In the 1900s, the university operated out of a barn structure. “A lot of people believe that entering medicine is about animals, but veterinary medicine is really about people and serving the community through animals,” Marks said.
Veterinarians and emergency animal doctors are hopeful a new generation of students could help fill the gaps created by staffing shortages, prompting some Upstate practices to close.
Animal medicine is facing a shortage across the nation and in South Carolina. A report from Clemson University claims a third of South Carolina counties have fewer than five veterinarians, and 48% of those counties have fewer than 10.
Upstate animal clinics, especially those in rural outcroppings, are hurting the most. Upstate Vet Emergency and Specialty Care, one of the area’s primary resources for pet care, was forced to close the weekend of July 19 and 20 because of a “staffing issue.”
The clinic referred patients to the South Asheville branch.
Dr. Atticus Mabry, who practices out of Oasis Animal Hospital in Greenville, said he is concerned with how the industry has changed.
“If they can’t stay open, that’s really concerning to us as veterinarians in the area. Oasis was built initially in kind of as an urgent care and emergency model. We’re not open 24 over seven. We lean on places like Upstate Vet and Fetch for the specialty component and that 24-hour care. The reason they don’t have backup veterinarians and stuff at this point is they’re owned by a large corporation that’s not local,” Mabry said. “Greenville used to be privately owned practices, privately owned specialty. We all talked to each other. We all hung out with each other. We would share employees if you needed coverage, and that sort of has dissipated because of corporate acquisitions.”
The field is considered by many a calling rather than a job. Balancing long hours, working through traumatic or critical cases and comforting a family or pet owner in a moment of high stress is typical protocol in a shift.
“We’re an integral part of the surrounding area. I mean, people trust us for not only their pet care, but you wouldn’t believe what they tell us. We just listen,” Mabry said.
The high pressures often lead to high turnover rates, especially in emergency medicine. Fewer graduates are willing to move to rural areas where the need is growing.
Clemson University College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Dr. Steven Marks said three decades in the field led him to inspire the next generation.
“I’ve been a veterinarian for over 35 years. The passion is really the interaction between humans and animals. The human animal bond and also training the next generation of clinicians and scientists. It’s multifaceted,” Marks said.
The nation has 33 accredited veterinary programs through the American Veterinary Medical Association. None currently exist in the state of South Carolina.
Aspiring students have a few options: apply for in-state or reduced tuition through an out-of-state institution, or study a vet technician role at a technical college.
Clemson University claims that between 500 and 1,000 students are not being admitted because existing programs are at capacity.
But hope is on the horizon.
The Harvey S. Peeler School of Veterinary Medicine will be opening the Palmetto State’s first and only program in fall of 2026, with a class of 80 students. The university broke ground on the seven-building property in November 2024.
“We have seven buildings. Six of those buildings will be academic buildings. There will be a main building that we will have classrooms and we’ll have offices, food services, a library. We will have a formal teaching building. We will show there’s a farm animal teaching building will have an equine teaching building,” Marks said. “Not just dogs and cats, but horses, cows, food safety, regulatory medicine. We’re looking for students that have varied interests. We’re not just looking for one type of engineering, but we will train them in all fields so they have opportunities to go into any aspect of any medicine that they choose. We’ll have a clinical teaching building, which will be anatomy labs, surgery labs. We will have a research building, and then we have an ambulatory service building that really is a truck-based hospital service to help serve large animals in the community.”
The facility has been in talks for decades. In the 1900s, the university operated out of a barn structure.
“A lot of people believe that entering medicine is about animals, but veterinary medicine is really about people and serving the community through animals,” Marks said.
link
